Food group Unilever may have to pay billions in Brazil. The country’s tax authorities claim a total of 2.9 billion euros. Much of that would be due to alleged tax evasion in the country in a 2001 restructuring.
In addition, there are still 648 million euros in lawsuits in the country related to tax issues. Then there is the question of whether or not to pay taxes twice.
NRC Handelsblad was the first to address the issue in its annual report for 2020. Unilever is said to have used restructuring to avoid taxes. Unilever was previously proved right by the judge, but a new case was filed in 2013 2013
According to Unilever, there is little chance that the tax authorities will be proven right, the annual report states. But there is also no guarantee that the claim will go off the table.
The matter will take months, if not years, according to Unilever.